Telecommuting is working for many

When David Wachtendonk bought Murder Mystery Maniacs five years ago, he picked the party-kit company because he could run it out of his home.

"It was the perfect job," he said, particularly given his wife's job involved four relocations in five years.

Last month, Wachtendonk moved the business to a storefront on the North Side to prepare for his second full-time hire. But he gives his workers the same flexibility to work from home that he still affords himself.

"It's a perk," he said. "As a small-business owner, I can't afford to pay a large salary, but I can compensate in other ways, like flexibility."

Flexible telecommuting arrangements are becoming increasingly common among small businesses, with higher gas prices being the catalyst for some companies to give it a try, experts said. And among start-ups, entrepreneurs have a politically correct reason to work from home.

"It's environmentally responsible," said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation.com, which provides business advice and networking for entrepreneurs.

Given the high cost of commuting, business owners can reap big dividends by allowing employees to work from home.

"Companies are recognizing it's critical for the retention of employees in today's environment," said Eric Buntin, managing director of operations and marketing at Randstad USA, which conducted a large-scale World of Work study this spring that revealed half of all companies embrace non-traditional work arrangements.

Contrary to the concept that workers are prone to slack off when they're not in the office, Buntin said, they have a financial incentive to make telecommuting work. They're likely to work harder at home to keep the arrangement. "The key is productivity," Buntin said.

Working from home kept expenses down for Murder Mystery Maniacs, contributing to the company's profitability, Wachtendonk said. The first year, the company sold $17,000 in original murder-mystery parties from its Web site, www.host-a-murder.com. This year, Wachtendonk said, the business likely will ring up $250,000, about double its 2007 revenue thanks to more corporate work.

The company uses actors, who are independent contractors, to help facilitate the mystery events, which include corporate team-building and holiday parties, as well as standard mix-and-mingle parties for personal events.

'Virtual' expansion

For larger companies, telecommuting can allow a business to expand geographically without opening up a new office in hundreds of cities. Forty percent of Diamond Management and Technology Consultants' 600 workers are based in Chicago, with others spread as far as London and Mumbai, India, said Ed Brady, partner and chief people officer at the firm, which had $182 million in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31.

"We are a virtual firm. We just ask that people live near a major airport," he said, adding most work at a client's site Monday through Thursday, then from home Friday.

With an understanding that workers are Diamond's most important asset, the firm stresses communication, Brady said.

"We operate in a very transparent fashion. That's what we use to foster collaboration," he said. Employees are encouraged to think like owners, and all own stock in the firm.

New hires begin with a three-week orientation and training program, while existing workers have about two weeks of education and training each year, Brady said. Often, the training focuses on team-building, problem-solving and communication, using simulated experiences, he said. In addition, each new consultant is assigned to a "career developer," a more experienced consultant with similar skills who can help less-experienced workers advance more quickly.

Communication is ongoing through regular e-mails from Chief Executive Adam Gutstein, who also writes a blog and encourages feedback. Diamond's Intranet shares quarterly financials, including earnings, travel statistics and other indicators of the company's performance.

The company holds meetings three times a year, when the firm's consultants converge on Chicago for two or three days. Employees also complete VIBE surveys annually, in which they are encouraged to "voice ideas to benefit everyone," Brady said.

Smaller firms might not need as many tools, but managing workers from a distance requires a concerted effort to communicate well, impose structure and continue to generate the collaborative energy that often comes from face-to-face meetings, Sloan said.

"It's important to get together on a regular basis," he said.

Make inclusion a rule

It's also important to include telecommuters and key outsourced workers in planning discussions about the company's future.

"You'll get the best work when you give them a sense of ownership and include them in your vision," Sloan said. Then, share accomplishments with them as you would if they were in the office.

At Murder Mystery Maniacs, Wachtendonk, said he has found the perfect balance working from home most mornings, then coming to the store in the afternoon. After four years of working alone, he appreciates the interaction with others, he said.

Full-time employee Mario Calhoun usually joins Wachtendonk in the afternoon to produce the mystery party kits, after writing and editing custom mysteries at a coffee shop in the morning.

Wachtendonk can keep tabs on Calhoun's progress remotely by checking order shipments and "last modified folders" by computer.

"He can see if I'm doing work or not," Calhoun said. "As long as the work is done, he doesn't care how I do it."

The two are in e-mail contact regularly, and the phone at the store bounces to their cell phones if neither is at the shop.

"Flexibility is a great perk," Wachtendonk said, "because it tells workers that you trust them."